1650 Sunrise on a Roman Seaport2013 SOLD 5 M£ including premium

Claude Gellée, whose artist name is Le Lorrain, is a contemporary of Poussin. Both are working in Rome, the capital of the arts, but their vision is different. Lorrain is not a mystic. He is interested in landscapes in extreme daylights.

On December 3 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 101 x 135 cm, estimated £ 3M, recently rediscovered after having remained out of sight for more than a century.

This painting was done in 1650 on order of a cardinal. The artist honors a local saint: during the reign of the pious emperor Theodosius, a woman named Paula left Rome to live the hermit adventure under the direction of Jerome who is indeed the only recorder of her hagiography.

From the perspective of Christian iconography this action is not spectacular, but the sunrise on a fancy Mediterranean seaport is sumptuous. Much later, Turner complacently recognized the considerable influence of Lorrain on his own vision.

The antique columns that close the left edge of the picture anticipate by more than half a century the fashion of the Roman capricci and the tall ships are worthy of a van de Velde.

POST SALE COMMENT

The quality and rarity of this painting led it to £ 5M including premium.

1718-1719 Christie's discovered a Watteau, what a surprise !2008 SOLD 12.3 M£ including premium

At our time, the treasures still exist, on the condition of knowing to see them.

A little more than one month ago, Christie's had announced in a press release the reappearance of a painting of Watteau presumedly destroyed for two centuries. The press had seized this information, rightly. Let us not forget it, but it is necessary to wait two more months for the sale, which will be done in London on July 8.

Entitled "la Surprise", this painting was known through a copy, and the owner was unaware of being in possession of an original. If as it is probable Christie's manages to sell it, the pockets of this happy British countryman will then have filled from at least 3 M£.

Of small size, it is an outdoor scene, elegant and dynamic, with feverish movement, with images typified according to the so specific technique of Watteau: the player of guitar, the couple of lovers, the puppy.

A masterpiece? Yes. One of the great biddings of the year? Probably not. The painting, whose exact dimensions are not revealed in the official statement, appears to be not larger than a paper sheet.

POST SALE COMMENT

The price obtained is also a surprise: £ 12.3 million charge included.

This painting had been announced well in advance by Christie's as one of the highlights of the season. It had the advantage of never being viewed before on the market and disadvantage of being small: 36x28 cm.

The market has thus confirmed the view of Christie's that this painting is a masterpiece of Watteau, and that Watteau is a major painter in the history of art. There is no doubt that we will not soon see a similar one reappear in a sale. A masterpiece that can be considered as single on the market has no price, but I think nobody could reasonably predict that it would be so high.

1733 - 1735 Chardin between Vocation and Career2013 SOLD 4 M$ including premium

Son of a craftsman, Chardin became a painter by an intense vocation. His colleagues early acknowledged him as a master in his first specialty, the still life. His technique was somehow different, which already disturbed.

Now he wants to earn a living. Still life, even well made, sold poorly. The fashion of the time, in those years following the Régence, is to licentiousness. Boldly, he chose a totally opposite way.

In the early 1730s, Chardin made ​​his first genre scenes, based like those from the old Dutch masters on peaceful household themes. But he disliked the movement and the anecdotes. His figures are frozen in a static position. For the first time probably in the history of art, the texture becomes more important than the subject.

He made a very honorable career, but nobody understood him. Diderot said that "no one he knew had ever seen Chardin paint" (quoted by Christie's). His contemporaries were unable to follow him, but we may now see in his work some roots of modern art through Cézanne and Matisse.

To demonstrate the above, l'ouvrière en tapisserie (embroiderer) is an excellent example. Although the size is very small, 19 x 17 cm, the texture of embroidery, cap, apron are remarkably fine, with a touch anticipating Monet and Van Gogh.

One of the early examples of this scene designed around 1733-1735 is estimated $ 3M, for sale by Christie's inNew Yorkon January 30. Here is the link to the catalog.

POST SALE COMMENT

Taking into account its small size, this painting has got a very good result: $ 4M including premium.

1757 Vernet came back to Avignon2013 SOLD 5.4 M£ including premium

In 1753, the marquis de Marigny acting as Directeur des Bâtiments of King Louis XV orders to Joseph Vernet a series of monumental paintings of the Ports de France. The project will last ten years and will not be completed, but its fifteen masterpiece paintings are unique of their kind.

The port is seen as a very elongated panorama with great care given to the truth of the details. The foreground is animated by characters in their local daily activities, adding the study of manners to the topographic realism.

Vernet does not crush the view in a narrow format and leaves a large place to sky, treated with abundant clouds in a beautiful sunset light. Only Francesco Guardi in his best period has reached such a balance between topographic realism and artistic imagination.

In 1757, Vernet gets permission from the marquis to spend a few months in his hometown of Avignon where he executes an ancient commission for a local dignitary.

Completed in 1757 as a 99 x 183 cm oil on canvas, the view of Avignon from the right bank of the Rhône is smaller than the royal paintings but has otherwise identical characteristics, with a similar topographic detail. Of course, private works made by Vernet during the period of the Ports of France are very rare.

The Avignon view is estimated £ 3M, for sale by Sotheby's in Londonon July 3.

POST SALE COMMENT

This painting dates from the best period of Vernet. It deserved £ 5.4 million including premium.The image is shared on Wikimedia:

1769 Fragonard out of his Time2013 SOLD 17 M£ including premium

Like all painters of his time excepted Chardin, Fragonard varied his styles to find customers. Influenced by Boucher, he early found fame in the theme of very young frivolous women with their games and passions.

Fragonard made a small series of oils on canvas known under the generic title of Portraits de fantaisie. Only one of these artworks is dated : 1769, the year of his marriage. It is not by chance.

Close to the aristocracy, Fragonard endeavours at that time to demonstrate that he may revolutionize the art of portrait. These paintings are comparable to the tronies made by Rembrandt. The likeness to the sitter is not the most important.

The movement of shoulders and head brings energy and even violence. Strong colors evoke passion. Fancy costumes "à l'Espagnole" provide a theatrical dimension that also positions the work out of its time.

Influenced by Chardin, Fragonard understood the importance of color. This series of fantasy portraits is an essential link in the history of art between Rembrandt and Manet. He will be the great-granduncle of Berthe Morisot.

Few models have been identified with certainty. Brilliant intellectual, François-Henri d' Harcourt enjoyed his portrait to the point that his family kept it until 1971.

This oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm was then purchased at auction by Dr. Rau. Coming now from this prestigious collection, it is for sale to the benefit of UNICEF by Bonhams in London on December 5.

POST SALE COMMENT

This painting has some exceptional qualities reinforced by the fact that it was one of the top masterpieces of the Rau collection and was sold for the benefit of UNICEF. It was sold for £ 17M including premium.I invite you to play the video shared by Bonhams on YouTube:

1776 An English Commission for Vernet2011 SOLD 7 M$ including premium

Joseph Vernet had spent his youth in Rome, like many French artists of his time. He was distinguished by his skill for maritime scenes.

When he returned to France, King Louis XV commissioned him a series of monumental paintings showing life in the ports of France. He worked to it during ten years, from 1753 to 1762, and realized fourteen large size paintings, 263 x 165 cm.

The compositions are similar to those of his contemporary of Venice, Francesco Guardi. The ports are realistic and recognizable. In the foreground, on the waterfront, a crowd of small figures brings the atmosphere of the time.

The English aristocrats were lovers of art and tourism. In 1774, one of them ordered to the artist a pair of paintings of a similar size as those of the royal commission. One of them is estimated $ 1.5 million, for sale at Sotheby's in New York on January 27.

Dated 1776, it shows a quiet sea shore at sunset. Small characters are unloading some merchandise from a tall ship that can be seen offshore. Buildings on the left are certainly part of a port facility. It is not located and is probably a work of imagination, as many of the unofficial paintings by Vernet.

Vernet's art is a realistic witnessing of his time, much interesting and also unexpected as it comes between the mythological imagination of le Lorrain (Claude Gellée) and the sentimental excesses of the Romantics.

POST SALE COMMENT

It is a very good day for the lovers of marine views by Vernet.

As I understood it, the painting described in my article could be compared to the most famous masterpieces of Vernet. It was sold $ 7M including premium.

A marine of smaller dimensions, 57 x 74 cm, was sold for $ 2.4 million including premium.

​1812 Boulevard du Crime2010 SOLD 4.56 M$ including premium

In those happy days when there was no television and no Internet, the entertainment was lived in the streets. Under the Empire, Paris recently awakened to the idea of freedom is a major place for social occupations, nice and varied, of which the painter Boilly is a passionate illustrator.

While the Palais-Royal is the place to go to fashion, Boulevard du Crime becomes the active center of entertainment and amusements. Its real name was Boulevard du Temple, but the Parisians had given it that nickname as a fun for the horrors that the theaters offered to good people.

At Christie's on January 27 in New York, Boilly observes a large crowd engaged in various activities in front of the entry of Café Turc, boulevard du Temple, in 1812. The costumes can not mistake on the time. This slice of Parisian life is an oil on canvas, 73 x 91 cm, estimated $ 3 million.

Typical of its time, the Café Turc was both a place of tasting ice creams and exotic drinks, and a garden. Paris enjoyed during the next decades an intense development of dancing gardens, cafés concerts, theme parks and restaurants.

POST SALE COMMENT

This lively Parisian scene has been regarded by purchasers as one of the masterpieces of Boilly. It was sold 4.56 million $ including premium.

1820 Portrait of Ramel de Nogaret by David2008 SOLD for $ 7.2M including premium by Christie's

​1830 The Sketch of Democracy​2017 SOLD for £ 3.1M including premium

Eugène Delacroix is ​​ambitious. He wants his art to be a flagship of modernism. He uses as themes of history some contemporary events including the Greek war of Independence. Against the classicism of Ingres he offers the reinforcement of the emotion through bright colors. The sudden death of Géricault pushes him prematurely to the rank of leader of the romantic painting in France.

The path he chooses is difficult : without any figure of famous personality in the opposite of David and Gros, Delacroix will have to demonstrate his own genius to find patrons. The contemporaries do not like the dirt of his war characters. His realism anticipates Courbet.

In 1830 violent events also happen in Paris. The barricades of the Trois Glorieuses (three glorious days) transfer the French monarchy from the Bourbons to the Orléans. Delacroix had no reason to participate in this new revolution : both branches of the royal family were his clients.

Overcome in the usual competitions of that time on predetermined historical themes, Delacroix feels that he can be the first to express the heroic atmosphere of the Trois Glorieuses to please the new regime.

Already about the Greek war Delacroix had shown fighting and harmed people, and also a feminine Victory inspired by ancient art as a separate artwork. For the Trois Glorieuses he has the very innovative idea of ​​mixing the two themes in a single heroic painting of very large size. He immediately begins to prepare drawings.

Success is mixed. Exhibited in 1831 at the Salon de Paris under the slightly bland title Scènes de Barricades, the oil painting 260 x 325 cm also known as 28 Juillet is bought by the king and then retracted by a minister after a few months with the very understandable excuse that it was an incitement to riot. Accepted by the Louvre at the beginning of the Troisième République, this Liberté guidant le peuple becomes the symbol of democracy.

On December 14 in London, Christie's sells a 64 x 85 cm canvas which is certainly the very first oil sketch made by Delacroix for his Liberté. It is estimated £ 700K, lot 8. Remaining traces of a change of orientation of the canvas allow to state that this painting is autograph. It is a precious testimony of the creative process for one of the most universally admired masterpieces of French art.

1833-1834 Choc de Cavaliers Arabes by Delacroix1998 SOLD for FF 46.5M before fees by Piasa

​1862 The Darings of Courbet​2015 SOLD for $ 15.3M including premium

Gustave Courbet was a socialist in the following of the workers' movement of Proudhon. His conception of realism is ideological: the ordinary man and woman can be shown in art without being beautiful or even clean.

He is provocative. Taking the format of an epic painting on a large size, 315 x 668 cm, L'Enterrement à Ornans makes a scandal in 1850. Proudhon is delighted.

The second empire, decreed in 1852, marks the return in France of a prudish censorship that sends its policemen against a pornography now facilitated by photography. For the artists opponent to the regime of Napoléon III, the nude becomes a challenge.

The deliberate ugliness enters the theme of the nude in 1853 with Les Baigneuses by Courbet. Even Ingres, yet close to the government, is interested in this new approach. His Bain Turc, on which he worked for ten years, is an unprecedented erotic accumulation that takes Orientalism as an excuse to avoid reprisals.

The woman viewed in full length is reclining on a bed, her head turned in a rest position, looking like some replica of the Venus of Urbino but without the discreet hand. Her offering attitude and the half undone stocking reveal that a sexual activity was just completed. The provocation of the picture is increased by a surrounding in romanticist style with a curtain and a landscape.

Such women by Courbet represent a milestone in modern French painting. On one hand, new private customers invite Courbet to even more daring pictures. On the other hand, Manet does not hesitate to confront the scandal with Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia.

​1870 Courbet on Seaside2013 SOLD 3.75 M$ including premium

Gustave Courbet occupies a key position in the evolution of French painting, between romanticism and impressionism. Opposed to all social conventions, he claims freedom.

In his career, he is the contemporary and the opposite of Corot. Corot likes to seduce and Courbet loves to shock. Corot maintains an extensive customer base, but for whom is Courbet working ?

Photography disrupts the graphic arts. After Delacroix, Courbet uses it. The style of the painter must go further, be more emotional than the simple optical imaging. In 1865, his art influences a younger artist named Claude Monet who is willing to promote plein air painting.

Is it a coincidence ? Monet grew up in Le Havre and Courbet, suddenly, looks at Etretat, the most beautiful site of cliffs in the Pays de Caux, and at the raging waves of the Channel. Courbet's painting is then soaked in the sun and becomes clear and bright.

On November 6 in New York, Sotheby's sells a view of Etretat painted by Courbet in 1870. This oil on canvas estimated $ 2M is shown in the press release shared by ArtDaily .

From an artistic point of view, Courbet had the capacity to become the leader of the new French painting. His appetite for a social revolution sent him into exile in 1871 after his controversial attitude during the Paris Commune.

The size of this painting is 65 x 81 cm.

POST SALE COMMENT

Very good price for this interesting pre-Impressionist landscape: $ 3.75 million including premium.